[Magic Dry Perth]

Is around 1.50 to 2.00 pounds a good price to get per Sq meter

[Ken Wainwright]

For me, residential absolutely not. You need to be double the higher figure..

For commercial maintenance it's in the ballpark.

For other businesses, it may be viable.

Safe and happy cleaning
Ken

[davep]

I work out price by how long the job will take..

[Mike Osbourne]

It's a poor method for domestic. Think furniture, level of soiling, access, carpet type/ease of cleaning rather than dimensions. As above think about time and have a competitive hourly rate in mind.

However it's a start I suppose. Unfortunately you will get wildly varying figures.

[vangaurd]

domestic,
£25.00 per hour , commercial all depends on who iam doing the work for, price varies

[Steve Chapman]

Hi,

does charging by how much time it takes, mean if you have two neighbours with same size lounge carpet they could end up paying different prices???

I can see a problem here with a lack of consistency in pricing which may be disconcerting to the customer.

Most customers don't see all the added obstacles like access and furniture, they see a carpet that needs cleaning and are happy to pay for that!

Much better to have a set price per size in most cases and then all know where they stand!

If you charge enough for carpet cleaning both parties will be happy and you will be even more so if you get an extra easy job.

Some days it takes me an hour to clean a lounge another may take me two depending on how i'm feeling, should I charge more on the days i'm a bit slower???   you can see the problem this can generate!

also  now i have a t/m cleaning is a lot quicker, does that mean i should cut my charges as not taking me so long?

The point is timing can change frequently, even is someone stands and yaks to you, but carpet sizes are a constant, so everyone knows what the score is

Just my humble opinion
  regards
steve

[Ken Wainwright]

I concur with the learned Doctor.

Safe and happy cleaning
Ken

[spickandspan]

I have just bought a T/M and there is no way I could charge as what I did with my portable,  it has to double dont you think.  but then when you go to a regular customer it sure does make them cough?

[Mike Halliday]

if you have two neighbours with same size lounge carpet they could end up paying different prices???

so Steve (carpet doctor)  if one livingroom carpet  is only mildly stained and they other looks like its hosted a chimps tea-party what do you do ? under-charge the bad one or over-charge the other?

because this is what you are saying by charging on size rather than the time taken on the carpet. this isn't lack of consistency in pricing its honest pricing, where the customer pays an individual price based on their specific cleaning needs.

Mike

[Mike Osbourne]

So you have an empty lounge with no stains on a pp carpet, you would charge the same as the neighbours you have just done thats trashed wool and more furniture than visible carpet?

[Ken Wainwright]

I charge everyone at the heavily soiled rate. When I get to a carpet that's only lightly soiled, it's a bonus to me and I have an easier time

To be honest, in my marketplace and the way I work, the level of soiling makes little difference to the time taken. Even if a room took, say, 10 minutes more it's not a big deal is it?

Safe and happy cleaning
Ken

[Mike Halliday]

ken, there is a slight inconsistency in you post

I charge everyone at the heavily soiled rate. When I get to a carpet that's only lightly soiled, it's a bonus to me and I have an easier time

then you say.....

'To be honest'

obviously from your first sentence, you are not 'honest'

mike

[Chris R]

I have just bought a T/M and there is no way I could charge as what I did with my portable,  it has to double dont you think.  but then when you go to a regular customer it sure does make them cough?

Hi,
why do you have to charge double now that you have a T/M ?

All I did was add about 5% to my prices to cover the fuel costs.

£5 in every £100 is not much of a price rise ?

The idea of a T/M is that you can manage more work in a day, and so not have to turn work away ( losing work ?).

I am a member of the truckmounters forum and its clear from reading the posts on that site that many T/M owners charge a far lower price than some porty owners.

A lot less than I charged when using a portable.

But they also fly through the jobs, achieving a very high daily turnover.

regards

Chris

[Steve Chapman]

I charge people to clean a dirty carpet, i don't measure the dirtyness, I just clean the same for all

And i probably wouldn't clean a trashed wool carpet full of furniture

regards
steve

[Cloverleaf]

You not only have to decide how much to charge per job.
Organising your day and traveling time/distance is the second consideration.

Doing one large job, then a lounge on the way home is good.

Traveling to 3 smaller jobs in one day 10 to 15 miles apart, looses time/fuel and set up times.

So most days I would only organise my jobs in perhaps a 7 mile radius.

I would rarely go out of my way to do small job (say 40 mins away) unless it was an important custy.

John

[Shaun_Ashmore]

A very soiled carpet and a lightly soiled carpet doesn't take that much longer with the right tools and experience, heavily furnished is something else.

I charge by the room size as I like the customer to see how I charge and how much it's just a visual thing to them, it makes sense when they see that their lounge carpet is going to cost more than a bedroom as it twice the size and sometimes easier for an add on.

It looks more professional than saying "oh and gives a £5 extra for that little bit in the bathroom"

Shaun

[Ken Wainwright]

I disagree Mike.

If your pricing policy is consistent, no matter what pricing formula you use, then you are being honest

Safe and happy pricing
Ken

[Doug Holloway]

Hi Guys,

I charge by the room on domestic as generally my quotes are over the phone and it's easier.

On the subject of honesty in my view provided you stick to whatever you have qouted, then you have honoured your contract.

Prices are negotiable on both sides.

Cheers

Doug

[Andy Foster]

I think people are mixing up honesty and consistency here, 2 totally different issues.

Being consistent in your pricing is important if you want to avoid situations such as the example above of two next door neighbours, however consistency has no bearing on your honesty. 
If you quote someone a price, they accept it and you fulfill the tasks quoted for to the custys satisfaction then provided you have not sold them something they don't need, you have been honest to your custy.

Regardless of how much you charge, if the recipient of the service is happy and you have made money then the World is a happy place.

[Liahona]

Good comments from many people.  Andy in his last posts hits the subject very well.

In my own field I can not charge per room or sometimes per square foot even though that would be some sort of consistency.

It may work for some as it does for Doug but I would come unstuck as the sizes of rooms I clean are so different.  I recently cleaned a 2000 square foot en-suit bathroom which of course couldnt be cleaned for £25 as some people would.

As for the same amount per square foot per house, I couldnt do that either.  For those who do, what happens when you are cleaning a very expensive textile as opposed to one that only costs 30 or £40 a square yard.

I think each job warrents it's own evaluation as to what should or can be charged.

One of the Chelsea owners properties is next to a rented property.  They are both very similar in size but I assure you both owners do not pay the same amount to have their carpets cleaned.  Nor supplied for that matter.

As has been said.  As long as you provide the service you are charging for there is no bearing as to what that indeed may be.

Best, Dave.